A Night at the Opera House: Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich
I have been seriously missing any real culture fix here in Saigon for quite a while. When I was asked by a friend if I fancied going to the Opera House to see a classical concert I jumped at the chance. The Opera House is more accurately entitle The Municipal Theatre of Ho Chi Minh City, but very few refer to it as that. You can read more about the actual building here: https://steemit.com/travel/@inseasia/saigon-attractions-5-the-municipal-theatre-of-ho-chi-minh-city
Saigon’s own HBSO Symphony Orchestra were to present two half of work by Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich. It turned out to be a truly wonderful night.
We met at one of my favourite spots “In Saigong” a lovely rooftop bar in the heart of District 1 for a few pre concert drinks, then strolled over Nguyen Hue to the Opera House. I was so looking forward to this. I have been here 5 years and shamefully this was my first experience inside this wonderful old Opera House. It did not disappoint. We had prime seats, the best in the house, three rows from the front and perfectly placed to be able to watch the pianist.
The Saigon Opera House is a wonderful custom built opera House perfectly fit for purpose to present classical works of this nature to an audience of around 480. It is a throwback to the days when acoustics and aesthetics matter more than size and the need to maximise profit. I adored it.
The orchestra took to the stage to generous applause from a packed audience; the night was completely sold out. The first half was given over to Tchaikovsky’s Piano concerto No1 B-flat minor opus 23. I was very familiar with this works and knew what to expect. I was somewhat taken aback by the standard. Although not a truly world class orchestra Saigon’s finest are very fine indeed.
The piano was taken by Ms. Ho Thi The Van an exceptional exponent of her craft. She has travelled the globe playing with top symphony orchestras and her class really did shine through. She is tall and elegant and sits further from her instrument then any pianist I can remember seeing. She delivered Tchaikovsky’s tricky piano part with great expertise and feeling.
For the second half I had no idea really what to expect. I would certainly not describe myself as a Shostakovich fan, finding much of his work a little difficult with which to engage. There is also a bit too much crash bang wallop for my particular taste, or so I thought. Tonight they were to perform the Symphony no 5 in D minor op47.
To hear this performed in the wonderful setting of the Saigon Opera House and played with such feeling and technique was quite simply wonderful. Conductor Le Phi Phi is a true maestro. He lived every second of this work and pulled each section of the orchestra into his reality, his way of presenting the work. He was good in the first half for the Tchaikovsky, he was magnificent in the second when presenting the Shostakovich masterpiece.
This really was a wonderful evening and one that I cannot wait to relive. I have a feeling that I will be making many more sojourns in the coming months.
!steemitworldmap 10.776808 lat 106.703110 long The Municipal Theatre of Ho Chi Minh City, otherwise known as The Saigon Opera House D3SCR
I have been developing the InSeAsia website for three years. It genuinely is a labour of love. I have lived in Southeast Asia for 9 years and have no plans to ever leave.
I am extremely grateful to anyone who follows me, up votes, comments or re-steems my work.
Come and check me out. If ever you come to Saigon, Vietnam get in touch and we can meet up.
Website: http://www.inseasia.com
Steemit: https://steemit.com/@inseasia
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InSeAsia/
Facebook group for Southeast Asia Steemians: https://www.facebook.com/groups/846253152208905/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4YQUTrPwK190V4vbJDLt_A
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inseasia/
Congratulations, Your Post Has Been Added To The Steemit Worldmap!
Author link: http://steemitworldmap.com?author=inseasia
Post link: http://steemitworldmap.com?post=a-night-at-the-opera-house-tchaikovsky-and-shostakovich
Want to have your post on the map too?
Add the following inside your post:
!steemitworldmap xxx lat yyy long description d3scr
(replace xxx and yyy with latitude and longitude)
Great pictures, keep posting.
Thanks, it was a great night. I appreciate your responses. Just need to power up over the weekend. lol
you're making sound great.you won't recognize if I go there someday.
Thanks for your comment